Father Felix Loganathan wants to reach out to new parishioners.
After standing tall for 10 decades, St. Anthony’s Church on Booth Street is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
The church, known officially as St. Athony of Padua Roman Catholic Church, located in the heart of Little Italy, has always been a big part of the Italian community in Ottawa.
Trina Constantini-Powell, president of St. Anthony’s Ladies Aid, says the church has provided “a home” to Italian immigrants.
“Many of the Italian people who came here didn’t know the language and didn’t have jobs or friends here, but they could gather in the church and have a social base as well as a religious base. And that never stopped,” she says.
The church started celebrations last December and will continue throughout the year.
Fr. Felix Loganathan, the church’s pastor, says the celebrations include seminars about the frescos and stained glass windows of the church, a family picnic and a fundraiser.
“We want people to be able to learn more about the church they go to, but also to reach out to new people,” he says.
The church is also creating a memory book. Constantini-Powell, who is in charge of the book, says it is very important to put the book together now, not just because of the anniversary, but also to ensure the history of the church isn’t lost.
“The people who have been going to this church for many, many years are getting older. If you don’t capture the stories now, you’re never going to get them. So we thought it was time to get them down on paper.”
The memory book will be published at the end of the year.
Evelyn St. Louis has been attending St. Anthony’s since 1933 and still tries to go every Sunday. The 87-year-old now depends on family members to take her to the church, but that’s not the only difference she has witnessed since she started attending.
“One change that is very noticeable in the time I’ve been going to this church is that it’s not as full as it used to be. Lots of people don’t go to church anymore. When I started going to this church it was always packed,” St. Louis says.
Loganathan agrees and says this is one of the reasons why parts of the anniversary celebrations focus on younger people, such as a youth mass and a walk-a-thon fundraiser.
“There is a change of generations right now, so we are trying to reach out to the younger people and introduce them to the church,” he says.
St. Louis says she believes that reaching out to younger people is the right approach to keep the church alive.
“Lots of parents don’t take their kids to church anymore, so many kids don’t even know what church is. Kids will have to be taught what it is in order to appreciate it,” she says. “And how could they not? It’s a beautiful church; it’s a place of prayer and comfort. It’s my church.”